Slumdwellers in Malad live on the edge

[karira]

As reported by Sukhada Tatke of TNN in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 29 August 2008:
Slumdwellers in Malad live on the edge -Mumbai-Cities-The Times of India

Slumdwellers in Malad live on the edge

MUMBAI: Their homes are precariously perched on the edge of a hill-tin sheds propped up to support the shanties, while the slope continues to chip away.

Over 100 families at Wadarpada in Dhanjiwadi in Malad (E), off Western Express Highway, continue to stay like this, hoping that some day, they will get a proper home under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme. The scheme, however , finds space only on paper though it was supposed to be implemented five years ago.

The residents had signed an agreement with Shah Housecon Pvt Ltd for the redevelopment of their building and according to the deal, five societies , with 1,000-odd families, were sanctioned accommodation under the SRA scheme. But one of the societies-Madan Mohan chawl-seems to be denied of the benefits.

In fact, details procured under the RTI reveal that of the five societies that were taken up for the project, the deputy collector's department had the proof of eligibility only for three. "When five societies have been granted permission for redevelopment, how can the sanctioning office not have its proof ? Some of the names that are supposed to be on the list are not there, while those who do not even stay there or maybe have died long ago feature on the eligibility list,'' said Vinod Shelar, north Mumbai BJP secretary.

"We have been waiting to move into our transit accommodation for eternity. We signed the papers five years ago but still we stay in this pathetic condition,'' said 50-yearold Lalita Jani. "The builder is just not going ahead with the project. After demolishing a few homes and then constructing the new buildings, they have stopped the work.''

Details under the RTI Act showed that the builder had not included 108 homes in the rehabilitation scheme, while 300 of the residents do not even feature on the eligibility list. "We have lived here for more than 40 years. We also had three shops. Now, we are not eligible for a home and all we are getting is a shop,'' said 67-year-old Keshavlal Calatta.

When TOI visited the site last week, there were huge cracks in the homes, while the stairs leading to the shanties along the slope were wet and slippery. Residents complained that the situation got particularly bad during the rains. The sides of the hill keep eroding and it is impossible to move around the home without the constant fear of it caving in, a resident said.

"If the children go too near the edge, they can fall down,'' said 45-year-old Lalita Chondekala. They do not even have basic amenities like toilets. "There were 16 toilets, they have broken down all of them. Now we are forced to use public loos, which are really far away,'' said a resident.

Meanwhile, builder Ramjibhai Shah denied that he was in charge of the project. "I have not undertaken the scheme for the redevelopment of the Madan Mohan chawl,'' he said.

However, TOI has a copy of the RTI reply that mentions that the particular society had been shortlisted for redevelopment.

Additional collector B G Powar said he had also received complaints regarding the annexure II. "The annexure II (the eligibility list) was approved in 2003 but now we are investigating the loopholes in them,'' he said.